1. Field of the Invention
This invention is for an apparatus and method used in the field of food processing. By the use of this apparatus and method, in the course of conveying products from a shaping machine to a processing apparatus such as a band oven, the products being conveyed are arrayed into any desired number of rows or columns in the transverse direction, and the thus arrayed products are fed to the next station.
2. Description of Prior Art
A prior art apparatus previously used for arraying products into a plurality of rows or columns includes, for example, a transverse feeding device such as a push rod or a guide plate mounted on a conveying apparatus. In such a prior art apparatus, a predetermined number of products moving in a line on a conveyor are transferred by the transverse feeding device onto another conveyor positioned below the first conveyor and at right angles thereto, and this operation is repeated to array the products into a predetermined number of rows or columns.
However, in the prior art apparatus as described above, the size and shape of products which can be handled by such apparatus are limited. Therefore, in order to array a variety of products into a desired number of rows or columns, guide plates and other parts must be replaced or adjusted at each time a new type of product is to be handled which results in great inconvenience.